Hi! My name is Mika Howard. So glad you found me here!   I would love to share my story so that you would get to know me better.

~ How I became a VA ~

Owning a Virtual Assistance practice and working as a Virtual Assistant is a dream come true for me. While I was in the corporate world, I always loved taking care of the administrative work, utilizing my organizational, technical, and management skills. But as the time went by, the downside of the corporate world gradually started affecting my personal outlook. As I started seeing more value in quality life, it became so clear that working for a company would not allow me the flexibility to achieve the quality of life that I most wanted. And I was too entrepreneurial to fit in a corporate box for the rest of my life… I needed to embark on a journey to open a new door in my life.

Then, I was naturally drawn to the Virtual Assistance profession. The more I learned about it, the more I felt that I was meant to be a VA. An exceptional VA.

I have completed the renowned 20-week rigorous VA training course with Assist University (“AssistU”). (If any of you reading this is interested in becoming a VA, I strongly recommend the Virtual Training Program at AssistU. Just contact me, and I will be happy to share my experience with you.) Now I am so proud to call myself a Virtual Assistant.

My business name “MTH Virtual Assistance” stands for what I am (my initials) and for what I do (Making Things Happen for my clients). It came to me one day out of nowhere, and I instantly decided that it’s the perfect name!

My current clients are in various industries, but they all have one thing in common: their passion toward their work. They are all exceptionally talented in their fields, and turned to me for help to create more time so that they could do more of what they truly love to do. I genuinely enjoy being a part of their businesses and working towards their goals together.

Can you tell how much I love being a Virtual Assistant?

~ My Background ~

General

• Born and raised in Japan. I communicate fluently in Japanese.
• I also lived in Tallahassee, Florida for 1 year, and in Toronto, Canada for 7 years.
• Have been residing in Orange County, California for 10+ years now, surrounded by 4 guys that I absolutely adore (husband and three sons).

Education

• B.A. in English from Dokkyo University, Japan
• Have taken interpersonal/non-verbal communication classes at Florida State University
• Completed Marketing and Direct Marketing programs offered by University of Toronto, Canada
• Completed and successfully graduated from AssistU’s Virtual Training Program
• Attended various professional seminars/training programs including:

- Alexandria Brown’s Online Success Blueprint System
- Tame the Internet Monster’s 1ShoppingCart Class
- AssistU Grad Class and Internship Program
- American Management Association’s Project Management Course
- American Management Association’s Debit & Credit Course
- Franklin Covey’s Achieving Your Highest Priorities Workshop
- Writing Policies & Procedures
- Effective Communication
- Various PC applications

Work Experience

• In Japan, Canada, and US.
• 20-years experience in executive/administrative assistant and various coordinator positions. The titles I held in the past include Executive Assistant, Administrative Assistant, Recruiter, Project Coordinator, Marketing & Media Relations Coordinator, and Production Coordinator.
• Have worked in a variety of industries ranging from Information Technology to Marketing, to Service, to Legal, and to Building Product Manufacturing. Yes, I am versatile and adapt easily in a record time!

Interests
Spending time with my family (husband of 10+ years & 3 young sons) tops the list! We enjoy family walk, going to parks, playing Wii games, and simply talking & laughing together.

I enjoyed frequent traveling while I was single. Now, with a bigger family, we do not travel often, but we do try to plan out-of-state trips whenever possible to visit our extended family members.

I enjoy Yoga. It enables me to breathe deeper, to feel taller and to simply feel great. Jazzercize, Pilates, roller/ice-skating are some other exercises I have fun doing. No rigorous stuff for me… Gotta have fun while staying fit!

Reading is another thing I enjoy. Love getting those Aha! moments from great reads. You can find some books that I love below.